The inaugural winner of Simon & Schusters Books Like Us contest, Elba Iris Prezs lyrical, cross-cultural coming-of-age debut novel explores a young girls childhood between 1950s Puerto Rico and a small Massachusetts factory town.

Andrea Rodrguez is nine years old when her mother whisks her and her brother, Pablo, away from Woronoco, the tiny Massachusetts factory town that is the only home theyve known. With no plan and no money, she leaves them with family in the mountainside villages of Puerto Rico and promises to return.

Months later, when Andrea and Pablo are brought back to Massachusetts, they find their hometown significantly changed. As they navigate the rifts between their familys values and all-American culture and face the harsh realities of growing up, they must embrace both the triumphs and heartache that mark the journey to adulthood.

A heartfelt, evocative portrait of another side of life in 1950s America, The Things We Didnt Know establishes Elba Iris Prez as a sensational new literary voice.